RECORDINGS.

Remy Zero The Golden Hum (Elektra) Imagine if...

November 25, 2001|By Joshua Klein.

Remy Zero

The Golden Hum (Elektra)

Imagine if Radiohead chose to stay in Earth's orbit around the time of "The Bends," then added a little bombast worthy of Queen, and you've got an idea of what Remy Zero is all about. With one foot firmly in the banal alt-rock camp and another in the artier stratosphere, Remy Zero manages to make radio-friendly anthems that work equally well as pretentious mood pieces. "The Golden Hum" makes many small concessions to the marketplace: "Glorious #1," for example, sounds a little too calculated to be just that, however vibrant. But the instrumental sweep of the title track as well as songs such as "Out/In" and "Belong" feature some neat little details lingering beneath the surface of the music, like gentle strings and subtle guitar effects sneaking out of the unabashedly catchy compositions.